


Clean-up

by nerdypipsqueak



Series: Requests, drabbles, short stories [43]
Category: A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia (1990), Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Clouds Hill, Drabble, House Cleaning, M/M, Zeid is a little shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:40:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21699454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdypipsqueak/pseuds/nerdypipsqueak
Summary: Feisal and Ned make Zeid help clean out Ned's cottage. Needless to say, Zeid is not impressed.Set in the Modern Royalty AU Nobody Asked For.Written for the 2019 Advent Ficlet Challenge. Prompt: ashes and soot.
Relationships: Faisal I of Iraq/T. E. Lawrence
Series: Requests, drabbles, short stories [43]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1391215
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8
Collections: 2019 Advent Ficlet Challenge





	Clean-up

"Oh. Em. Gee! This place is a dump!" Zeid's disgust is plain to see. 

The cottage is not impressive, it's small and in desperate need of repairs but it's hardly a dump. In fact it's quite picturesque, nestled cosily among the trees and wild flowers. It has the potential to be a very nice holiday home. 

"Fuck, I've only got one bar on reception." Zeid moans, raising his phone as far above his head as he can.

"Put it away. We've got work to do." Ned brushes past us, keys in hand and starts wrestling with the front door. 

"What do you mean work?! I thought we were only going to supervise the builders. You said you had builders in."

"They're coming tomorrow but they're only going to do the major stuff. The rest is up to us."

"And you expect _me_ to work?!"

"Yes, I do. When you arrived we made our expectations clear. In the months before admissions you are to find a job and contribute to the household expenses. You refused, so you have to earn your keep in chores."

"I don't need a job." Zeid snorts. "I have an allowance."

"And I am not above asking your father to cut your allowance." Ned retorts.

"You wouldn't. Anyway, do you even contribute to the household?"

"Yes, I do actually. I have royalties from my books and articles."

Zeid rolls his eyes and slouches into the cottage. Immediately he starts complaining about the dust ("I am NOT putting my coat here, it's Armani, you can't put Armani on a windowsill!"), the actual size of the cottage ("do people seriously live like this?!") and the work itself ("I'm a prince, I'm not cut out for manual labour!")

"Being a prince is a privilege, not a qualification." Ned tells him, thrusting a broom into his hand. "Now be a good sport and get rid of the leaves on the floor."

"So have you thought about what you want to study?" I ask Zeid as I start gathering abandoned century-old household items. "And where?"

"I checked out Cambridge and it looks, like, super-stuck up. I'm thinking Oxford."

"Oxford's good. I did history and archaeology there." Ned interjects. "I can give you a hand with the admission process. But we're very particular about our traditions too."

"You went to Oxford?! I thought it was a posh people uni."

"Anyone can go to Oxford. All you need is good exam results and the will to work really hard."

"And money."

"There's scholarships. I had one, there's no shame in that."

Zeid scoffs and goes back to sweeping. He doesn't do it quietly though, constantly moaning about everything from the dust to the non-existent blisters on his hands. I almost feel sorry for him, it must be quite a shock for someone who hasn't worked a day in his life, hasn't had an ounce of discipline but instead has had everything handed to him on the proverbial silver platter. 

"I was thinking about archaeology." Zeid says. "Looks like fun."

"Oh, sweet boy!" Ned starts laughing uncontrollably. In minutes he's wheezing and unable to stand.

"What's so funny?! It looks cool, you get to travel, explore, maybe find some treasure. Isn't there good money in archaeology?"

"Good God, Zeid, you've seen too many movies. Now please go check the chimney."

Reluctantly, Zeid positions himself within the fireplace and starts poking the inside of the chimney with his broom. 

"Tell me what it's really like then, smart-arse." He says.

"There's a lot more paperwork than people think." Ned replies. "You have to apply for financing, plan your digs, analyse your findings, I'd say for every one day I've been in the field I've spent about five days doing paperwork."

"But what about the exploring? The treasures?"

"You rarely get to explore ruins. Most of the time you're up to your shoulders in a ditch in the ground. And the most valuable finds are the ones that tell us what people's lives used to be like, not the ones that look pretty."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. The objective is to learn about the past. That's why the best things we can find are fireplaces and latrines. You wouldn't believe the amounts of ash, soot and thousand-year-old human waste I've had to dig through in my career."

"You've got to b- there's something stuck here." Zeid carefully adjusts himself and gives the chimney shaft a few vigorous stabs with his broom. The next thing I know there's a poof, a whoosh and a massive cloud of dust and ash erupts from the chimney. Zeid shoots out of the fireplace, coughing, gasping and spluttering, covered from his head to his knees in about fifty years' worth of soot, feathers and dead leaves.

"There's a sneak preview for you." I manage to say before I collapse, laughing.


End file.
